IBM and Twitter combine on big data in your pocket

Twitter is lending the weight of its daily communications to IBM, which will in turn provide data to its enterprise customers.

Twitter provides a "tsunami" of data and comment each day, according to Alistair Rennie, general manager for business analytics at IBM, who said that if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for everybody.

"I use Twitter as a sort of market-intelligence radar. I follow very smart people to see what they're reading and thinking," he said.

"Now, for the first time, business leaders will be able to tap into the Twitter stream in powerful new ways to harvest insights that help them understand customer sentiment more deeply, develop hit products and services, and anticipate sudden shifts in moods and markets."

The introductory information is wordy and bursts well over any 140-character limits. We read through a glowing commentary saying that the two firms are "tapping the public pulse of the planet", and that businesses will get a literal blast in the pocket and the face when, through the cloud and analytics services, they adopt the Twitter comment rocket.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said that companies will be able to better engage with customers. Customers, maybe, will be less keen on this kind of thing, but business is business.

"When it comes to enterprise transformation, IBM is an undisputed global leader in enabling companies to take advantage of emerging technologies and platforms," said Costolo.

"This important partnership with IBM will change the way business decisions are made, from identifying emerging market opportunities to better engaging with clients, partners and employees."

Twitter, which on first glance is a stream of people pouting or posturing about their possessions, will find its content nestling alongside IBM's Watson, a supercomputer with enough brains to win a US TV game show.

"IBM will offer Twitter data as part of select cloud-based services, including IBM Watson Analytics, a new cognitive computing service that delivers predictive analytics and data visualisation to the palm of your hand," added Rennie.

The two firms will work on enterprise-flavoured solutions and will kick off with a focus on sales, marketing and customer relations.